hr camp, candlelight vigil, memorandom, botak

after disappearing for six days, u-jean comes home with a bang!

i attended a human rights camp in kl organised by amnesty international (ai) and malaysian youth and students democratic movement (dema). and indeed it was eye-opening. i wrote here on what i expect from the camp and it was all achieved.

the camp was very well-planned. we had very interesting discussion and debates on issues and rights, on who has more rights and we had good resource people/speaker to enlighten us on the current situation in malaysia. we also had site visits to places where

this is the kind of education i'm looking for. filled with debates and discussions and arguments with justification. it gets you to think from different perspectives and it also makes you think about your stand when it comes to making decisions.

it's a bit hard for me to describe by words (a bit lazy to recall as well) but if you're interested to know, ask me when you see me and i'll tell you more.

i've also attended a candlelight vigil at dataran merdeka. funny how my first visit to the famed dataran merdeka should be for this reason. as a supporter or protester however you see it. the vigil was held in support of those arrested in the bersih and hindraf rally, as well as the lawyers who arrested in the freedom march.

when we (dema gang) arrived (late), the police had already cordoned off that area. however, surprising to me, we were allowed to participate in the vigil. so we joined the larger crowd, holding candles in the rain. upon arrival, i could see mien armed with a camera and jannah as a tukang payung. chi too greeted me with a "apa khabar orang dari penang?". it was so good to see familiar faces. feels "in" as well.

i also attended the memorandum handling to the parliament rejecting the extension of retirement age of the election commision (ec) members. we didn't get the march near to the parliament cuz the police had blocked the area near the bank negara. so, near the roundabout we stood til we decided to move to the ipk jalan hang tuah.

it ws my first visit to the ipk as well. just stand outside only la. we were there to pressure the police to release those who were arrested at the parliament. they even arrested a 13 year-old boy. ridiculous.

for these two gatherings, i can't say i feel strongly their cause but i support them. i admit that i had doubts in joining them especially when the country is at it's height in street demos and rallies. i still have tertiary education to worry about and all. personally, i went there more of an observer rather than supporter/protester. i wanted to see what a gathering like this would be like. it is better to see for yourself and make your own judgments rather than hear stories form many other sources.

what i would conclude is nothing much really happened. no one i had seen was violent. things were very much under control. probably cuz it was in small numbers. people just wanted to bring out their point and dissatisfaction. so i don't think anything should be stopping them. or else it would be like being pinched but yet not allowed to scream.

i concocted this idea that i actually think would be rather viable. let's have rally tourism, just like agro tourism, health tourism, and what nots. it's not really an original idea la, something like pythagoras. not really original but you just conceptualize/ put it under some name.

you see, when rallies happen, people from all over the country come to participate. this means they would need a place to stay, food to eat, and transportation which will translate to $. making the yellow bersih shirts also generates $. i mean look at the sea of yellow. how many t-shirts do you think they make? they will need drinks and food while marching as well.

people from all over the world will be coming in to cover the event as well. we can always charge them broadcasting fee. like locals, they will also need accommodation, food, and transportation as well. and since they are here already, they can always extend a few days to visit malaysia/buy souvenirs/whatever. like if you go to beijing for the olympics, you won't be so stupid to just attend the event but not visit beijing right? see what i mean? viable isn't it?

ok fine. i'm just like some cina who tries to make profit out of every opportunity.

this idea came from my experience. i went for holiday but ended up rallying, so wht can't we do the opposite. go for rallying then support tourism.

let's get to something more important. MY HAIR!!!

the lack of it would be more appropriate. it's drastic i know. from rambut panjang to elek (apa pun tak de). i've received quite some responses. some on msn, some on my previous picture entry, a lot more from facebook, and here are some from sms:

"oh my god! wicked! you so rock!"
"congratulations. you look like a misplaced nun"
"oh my gosh!!!"
"yu jean! omigosh omigosh!"

well i guess what people would want to know is why i did it. it's not "normal" for a girl to be bald. but then again who sets the standards?

to me, it's just a haircut la. just that i cut it shorter than "normal" people. if people can have super long hair, then i can have super short hair. it's not for the sake of art or charity although i would prefer that it was that way. but no, it wasn't. it's the cheapest distinctive haircut around. people spend money to perm/straighten or dye their hair just to catch attention, but put me beside them, they drown like a stone.

you can say that i'm trying to bring out a point with this haircut. as you can see, i get like shocked remarks from people. but why? it's just hair. so why the shock? cuz it's long? would it make a difference if my hair was short and i cut it bald? cuz i look like a boy? does balding myself make me a boy? cuz i don't look pretty without hair? who needs you to tell me what's pretty?

most women prize themselves on their hair. that's why they take care of it, perm it, straighten it, style it, whatever. it represent beauty and it is a symbol of confidence. a woman's crown they call it. it's a physical representation of being beautiful. believe or not, some mothers would never let their daughters have short hair.

but i believe real beauty comes from within. i am beautiful because of who i am and that i have wonderful people around me. not because i have long silky ankle length hair. confidence radiates from the sincerity of your smile, genuine laughter, and honest eyes.

it's also a gender thing la. why can't girls go bald? does being bald makes me a lesser girl? incomplete? no hair to swish around? i can't twist my hair around my finger and flirt? which toilet are you going to ask me to use? i think you get my point.

i shamelessly admit that i do enjoy the attention. it's probably a cliche in kl (and i'm not copying sharifah amani. i had the idea first but she executed it first) but i think penang hasn't got enough bald girls around. parading my head in public does get me a bit more stares and longer ones as well.

i asked ong boon keong today on why he kept his appearance the way he does. one thing is he wants people to ask him because basically people are to shy to ask. the second thing is to bring out a more important point like our lack of freedom to assembly. how does your janggut bring out that point i asked him. he said, "it is more important to pay attention to freedom of assembly than to spend time thinking about what hairstyle to sport" which is so true. people spend more time worrying about their physical appearance than more crucial things like global warming and the current political situation of our country. it's really sad la you know that youths are more troubled by menial things like nails and hair gel but not bother about their country and the world.

so, how does it feel to be bald? i think i've managed to eliminate the myth that being bald is literally cooler. it's not that cool actually. it actually feels warm, most of the time. like heat is radiating from my head. i can't directly expose it to the sun cuz it feels dizzy after a while. but when in an aircond place, wah, really really aircond! when i put water on my head. really cooling la.

it feels really odd at the beginning (duh!). i had to readjust the force to turn my head around. have to use less force to swing my head now that i don't carry the burden of hair. it really feel funny while sleeping. like when i turn my head on the pillow, the turning doesn't feel so smooth cuz i don't have hair to glide on. got friction summore. just funny la.

now hair has started to grow. it feels like velcro and it feels bristly. when i take off my shirt, tersekat-sekat pulak. it feels like an unshaved chin.

so if you wanna support my cause or give me moral support, get me a bandanna! i would really like a corduroy beret though. get it for me a happy balding and happy christmas present! i would really appreciate it. thank you in advance!